


The World Was Wide Enough

by EmmaNolanCalling



Category: Hamilton - Miranda (Kind of?), Six - Marlow/Moss, The Tudors (TV)
Genre: Hamilton Lyrics, Historical Inaccuracy, Oneshot, Songfic, Tower of London, Tudor Era
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-21
Updated: 2021-01-21
Packaged: 2021-03-13 02:41:18
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 969
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28896036
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EmmaNolanCalling/pseuds/EmmaNolanCalling
Summary: The final thoughts of Anne Boleyn before her infamous end. (Based off of The World Was Wide Enough from Hamilton, with edited lyrics)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 10





	The World Was Wide Enough

As Anne Boleyn walked towards the Tower, her mind filled with thoughts. It was like everything slowed down, while it went to fast at the same time.

I imagine death so much it feels more like a memory  
Is this where it gets me, on my feet, several feet ahead of me?  
I see it coming, do I run or even scream or let it be?  
There is no beat, no melody

She had known this would happen, but it was still so shocking. She tried to stand strong while reading her final speech out.

Henry, his second love, now my enemy  
Maybe the last face I ever see

Henry VIII had broke from the Church to marry her, but soon she discovered he was a traitor, just as the country saw her now. She thought it was her destiny, that she had found true love. Of course Anne could have never been the Queen.

If I die here on the scaffold, is this how you'll remember me?  
What if this execution is my legacy?  
Legacy, what is a legacy?  
It's planting seeds in a garden you never get to see  
I wrote some notes at the beginning of a song someone will sing for me

He could have just divorced her. She would have stood strong and taken it, because even public humiliation would have been preferred to this. What she did was barely cheating in the first place. Walking closer to the block where a soldier from her beloved France stood, she took a deep breath.

England, you great unfinished symphony, you sent for me  
You let me make a difference, a place where even common women  
Can leave their fingerprints and rise up  
I'm running out of time, I'm running, and my time's up  
Wise up, eyes up

Anne had been controversial since she arrived back to England, an inspiration to some and an enemy to others. She was still glad for the chance, getting to change so much. The Poor Law had been presented, along with other changes for equality. Now she had to pay the price for “stealing” the throne. She prayed, eyes closed, feeling the motion of something getting closer.

I catch a glimpse of the other side  
Catherine leads a nuns' choir on the other side

Anne regretted treating Catherine of Aragon so cruelly, especially as she had such strong support from the country. A devoutly religious woman, she knew she had made it to Heaven along with her once rival. Maybe this could end in peace.

My lost sons are on the other side  
They’re with my brother on the other side  
Arthur Tudor is watching from the other side  
Teach me how to say goodbye  
Rise up, rise up, rise up, Bess!

Her brother George along with other men had to be executed before her due to the (false) accusations, and she couldn’t lie about how dearly she missed him. She couldn’t have her own brother’s support near this event. Maybe if her son survived, or even the first Tudor heir, none of this would have happened. She would have to leave her daughter Elizabeth, who she loved dearly, but at least Bess would still have a chance at queenhood.

“Dear mother, take your time  
I'll see you on the other side  
Raise a glass to freedom”

Elizabeth didn’t know if her mother heard her whispers before taking her final breath, but dearly hoped she did. A queen of her own blood, would be becoming a queen in Heaven.

“Wait!”

Henry started to regret his decision in the final seconds, but it was too late. Months later, after the death of his beloved Jane Seymour, he began to reflect on Anne’s life.

The sword strikes her right above her neck  
I walk towards her, but I am ushered away  
They carry her body back to London  
I get a drink

He had been to many executions, but Anne’s had always stayed with him. He would go down in history as a tyrant after this.

I hear wailing in the streets (aah, aah, aah)  
Somebody tells me, "You'd better hide" (aah, aah, aah)  
They say Mary Boleyn and Elizabeth  
Were both at her side when she died

The English people were shocked, to say the least. Henry even feared a revolution. Anne’s own sister and daughter watched this scene, both in panicked tears. 

Death doesn't discriminate  
Between the sinners and the saints, it takes and it takes and it takes  
History obliterates, in every picture it paints  
It paints me and all my mistakes

Just as he had thought before, his plan to go down in history would backfire now. Now, he would be the worst king, known for the death of his own love. He had made a mistake, even if he could get an heir with Jane out of it.

When Anne Boleyn lowered her head  
She may have been the one to have bled  
But I'm the one who paid for it  
I married Jane, but I paid for it

Henry leaned over where Anne’s body would have been. Jane may have been the one with a Queen’s funeral, but Anne Boleyn would be a historical martyr ever since he made up accusations against her. 

Now I'm the villain in your history  
I was too young and blind to see  
I should've known  
I should've known the world was wide enough for both Anne Boleyn and me  
The world was wide enough for both Anne Boleyn and me

He left a single Tudor Rose over her grave, walking back to his castle. Soon, he would truly regret what he did, and as Anne got her angel wings, he only ruined his life more. He feasted, jousted, did what a king did, but could never forget his second wife.


End file.
